Miss Moneypenny is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service (MI6). Although she has a small part in most of the films, it is always highlighted by the underscored romantic tension between her and Bond (something that is virtually nonexistent in Ian Fleming's novels, though somewhat more apparent in the Bond novels of John Gardner and Raymond Benson). On that note, she is not always considered to be a Bond girl, having never had anything more than a professional relationship with Bond, to her dismay.

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Background[edit]

In Ian Fleming's first draft of Casino Royale, Moneypenny's name was originally "Miss 'Petty' Pettaval", which was taken from Kathleen Pettigrew, the personal assistant to MI6 director Stewart Menzies. Fleming changed it to be less obvious.[1] Other candidates for Moneypenny's inspiration include Vera Atkins of Special Operations Executive;[2]Paddy Ridsdale, a Naval Intelligence secretary;[1]; Joan Bright Astley, whom Fleming dated during World War II, and who was noted for giving a warm and friendly reception to senior officers who visited her office to view confidential papers [3] and Joan Howe, Fleming's red-haired secretary at The Times who had typed the manuscript of Casino Royale. [4] The BBC has used the term "Fleming's Miss Moneypenny" when referring to Jean Frampton, who typed out the manuscripts for Fleming's later works and made plot suggestions to him, even though the two never met.[5][6]

Summary[edit]

Miss Moneypenny is the private secretary of M, the head of MI6. She holds the rank of Lieutenant RN, which is a prerequisite rank for this position. She is cleared for Top-Secret, Eyes-Only and Cabinet-Level intelligence reports, the latter of which she is often required to prepare, and in some cases present.

M's personal assistant is utterly dedicated to her work, which means she has little time for a social life. A close confidante of her boss, she also enjoys a flirtatious—though never consummated—relationship with James Bond, whom she understands perfectly.

Moneypenny was never given any backstory until the 2012 film Skyfall, when she was re-introduced to the series following the 2006 reboot of the series' continuity. Moneypenny, now played by Naomie Harris, is originally a field agent assigned to work with Bond on an operation in Turkey. It ends in disaster when she accidentally shoots Bond while he is fighting with a mercenary they are following. She is temporarily suspended over the incident, and reassigned to a desk job, assisting Gareth Mallory, the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, who has been assigned to watch over MI6. She later meets Bond in Macau and aids in locating an agent of Raoul Silva, the film's villain, before returning to London. While there, she takes part in a gunfight at a public inquiry into MI6. By the end of the film, she decides to retire from fieldwork, instead becoming Mallory's secretary once he takes over the role of M.

Role[edit]

"Of course she's in love with Bond, but she's too much a lady to go chasing after him. So she smiles and bides her time. In a way, you can't blame her. Every woman would like to live dangerously with James Bond, if only for 20 minutes, or half a night..."

In both the Bond novels and films based upon them, Moneypenny is smitten with Bond. For example, in the novel Thunderball, Fleming wrote that she "often dreamed hopelessly about Bond." However, she never explicitly voices these feelings.

Miss Moneypenny's role in Fleming's novels is even smaller than her role in the films. In the novels, Bond also has his own secretary, Loelia Ponsonby and later Mary Goodnight, both of whose lines and relationships were often transferred to Miss Moneypenny for the films. As a rule, Moneypenny generally never directly participates in Bond's missions. However in Skyfall, Moneypenny is an MI6 agent who directly assists Bond in the field before becoming the new M's secretary. In the film Octopussy, Moneypenny has an assistant named Penelope Smallbone, who appears to be equally smitten with Bond, despite a "thorough briefing" on the subject by Moneypenny. Intended as either a foil or a replacement for Moneypenny, Smallbone appeared only that once.

In most of the Bond films, there is a scene, usually Bond's arrival at M's office, in which Bond and Moneypenny exchange witty, flirtatious conversation. ("Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.") In the earlier films, these exchanges are more sexually charged, with Bond often kissing or caressing Moneypenny sensually. In Die Another Day she puts on Q's virtual reality glasses and sees Bond walking casually into her room and tossing his hat on the hook. He tells her how much he loves her and knocks everything off her desk and the two start to kiss. Q interrupts her, and she pretends she was using it as a combat simulation.

In the original film version of Casino Royale, actress Barbara Bouchet plays M's current secretary, and explains to Sir James Bond (played by David Niven) upon their first meeting that she is actually Miss Moneypenny's daughter. She is referred to thereafter, and in the closing credits, as Moneypenny.

Since the character's first appearance in Casino Royale, neither Fleming nor any succeeding Bond novelist gave Moneypenny a first name. In a number of books and at least one film, Bond refers to her by the nickname "Penny" (a shortened version of her last name). However, The Moneypenny Diaries gives her first name as Jane, while in Skyfall, the character is named Eve.

After Lois Maxwell's death, Roger Moore recalled that she would have liked to have become the new M after Moore's retirement. She had suggested herself for the role of M but had been turned down. "I think it was a great disappointment to her that she had not been promoted to play M. She would have been a wonderful M."[8]